Much of the concentration and focus on supply chain operations in non-acute care settings centers on class-of-trade complaints, ranging from contract pricing to distribution costs to effective but efficient inventory management.

Many participants in supply chain operations recognize and understand (even if they don’t agree with it) the argument behind suppliers charging more for the same products delivered to acute care facilities because they’re generally distributing product in small quantities to geographically dispersed and far-flung facilities. Economically, it makes some logical sense that it costs more to deliver a case of widgets to a remote ambulatory surgery center 100 miles away from a prominent city than a pallet of widgets to a suburban hospital. The service simply costs more….

Read the full article, including Lumere Chief Client Officer John Cunningham’s thoughts on obvious and obscure supply chain challenges unique to the non-acute or outpatient segment.